Axios PM

January 31, 2023
Happy Tuesday afternoon. Today's PM β edited by Kate Nocera β is 513 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Carlos Cunha for the copy edit.
1 big thing:π¨ Big-city exodus

People aren't moving to big city centers like they used to, even as employers ramp up calls to return to the office, Axios' Sami Sparber reports.
- Why it matters: Affordability is still drawing Americans to areas that are less dense and cheaper, particularly in the Sun Belt.
A new report from the National Association of Realtors finds that many top metros β New York, San Francisco, Chicago β saw more people leaving than people moving in.
- Instead, people fled to cities in Florida, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina.
π The Miami metro area experienced the largest inbound increase from before the pandemic, with gains of nearly 60% in 2022 compared to 2019.
- Houston had the highest move-in rate for 2022.
The report analyzed Postal Service change-of-address data to spot migration trends.
- Nearly 70% of ZIP codes posted fewer inbound moves in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the data.
The slowdown has persisted, as droves of people sought more space and cheaper cost of living during the pandemic.
2. π€ Using AI to spot AI

ChatGPT creator OpenAI released a free web-based tool today designed to help people figure out if a particular chunk of text was written by a human or a machine, Axios Login author Ina Fried reports.
- Teachers and professors are very worried about the sudden prevalence of powerful tools like ChatGPT, which can help students cheat.
The new tool may help. Users copy a chunk of text into a box and the system will rate how likely the text is to have been generated by an AI system.
- It breaks things down into five categories β very unlikely to have been AI-generated, unlikely, unclear, possible or likely.

π₯ Reality check: OpenAI cautions the tool is imperfect. Performance varies based on how similar the text is to the types of writing it was trained on.
- It works best on text samples greater than 1,000 words and in English β with performance significantly worse in other languages.
3. Catch up quick

- Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) told colleagues today he is stepping down from his committee assignments. Go deeper.
- π Longtime Sen. Dave Durenberger (R-Minn.) died today at the age of 88. The moderate Republican was deeply involved in the American With Disabilities Act. Obit from (Minneapolis) Star Tribune.
- πΈ Nashville Mayor John Cooper won't seek re-election, he announced today. Go deeper.
4. π Monkey business

Two emperor tamarin monkeys are missing from the Dallas Zoo and the zoo believes they were taken, Axios Dallas author Michael Mooney reports.
- "It was clear the habitat had been intentionally compromised," a zoo spokesperson said.
- Dallas police are asking for the public's help identifying a person they would like to speak to regarding the missing monkeys.
The big picture: This is the latest in a string of strange incidents β enclosures have been cut open and a vulture died suspiciously β at the zoo over the last month.
- The zoo has since increased security.
Sign up for Axios PM

Get Mike Allenβs afternoon take on the most important news of the day